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I've putted armlock for 3 years. I took to it quickly. Never putted better in my life. Long putts were the most trouble. Practice hitting lags while looking at the hole. That will help you with feel. The key is to ALWAYS KEEP THE PUTTER AGAINST THE LEAD ARM. My father putted armlock too but could never master that. He always broke down and the putter grip left his arm.

My personal technique requires me to play the ball off my left toe. (Rt handed). I use std lifts and never have problem with roll.

I'd be happy to talk all day about armlock because I'm a huge believer.

Now use a Seemore Giant, counter balance version (so heavier) fitted with the Arm Lock golf grip ( which angles the shaft forwards within the grip itself).

Best to try a few variations in style - I've ended up with left hand low and the right arm bent rather than hanging down straightish. Tricky to describe perhaps, but that helps to easily and gently push the shaft against the inside of the left arm while allowing the right arm to have a nice 'underarm throwing' feel to it for speed control.

I am looking to try it but it feels so uncomfortable. How long did it take for you to get comfortable with it?

I bought a Bettinardi armlock and tried it off and on on my indoor putting green for several months. I never could get used to it. I sold it without ever even taking it to the course. I'm a lefty and of course there were no lh armlocks to demo so I bought one to try. Didn't work for me. Such is the life of a lh golfer in the U.S.

i agree with the OP.. i tried hard early last year to like armlock , but it is the most uncomfortable position ive ever tried to contort into...My left arm doesnt get along with the idea... someone suggested later that the putter might have been too short.. it was 40 inches.. i honestly dont see how guys do it.. it was actually painful for me

i agree with the OP.. i tried hard early last year to like armlock , but it is the most uncomfortable position ive ever tried to contort into...My left arm doesnt get along with the idea... someone suggested later that the putter might have been too short.. it was 40 inches.. i honestly dont see how guys do it.. it was actually painful for me

Putter length is VERY important but 40 should have been close. The easiest way to get used to it is by hitting putts one handed. Hold the putter with the left hand (rt handed golfers), place the butt end of the grip on the inside of the forearm just below the elbow, ball up on the left toe and go. The right hand is really just along for the ride.

For me it depended on the putter style. I tried the armlock style when Bettinardi introduced the Kuchar models and never really could get comfortable with the setup. I had a pretty awful year on the greens last year and wanted to give this style an actual chance. I picked up a BioMech Acculock and the shaft placement helps me get aligned and setup more comfortably.

I hAd the Betti too but never got used to the 7* of loft. I use a standard putter played up in my stance. I feel as though my left leg,left arm and putter shaft are all lined up. Imagine leaning your entire left side against a wall. That's my setup.

With armlock putting you may not ever feel comfortable. Armlock putting forces you into a somewhat extreme/uncomfortable setup position. That extreme position forces you to lock down a few of the variables in your stroke. Reduced variables = more consistency.

There are a few different ways to putt with an armlock putter. The way I find to be the best it the way Tony Finau putts. Left hand low where the right hand holds the grip against the left arm. IMO, it's the most foolproof way to ensure you are keeping the face square through impact. You can putt standard with armlock, but I think left hand low has more benefits. For me, it works better than putting left hand low with a standard length putter.

I don't change much with my armlock... I just let the shaft ride up my left arm, which produces a forward press. Everything else is the same as my traditional putting stance, so didnt take long.

I do find some change lots of things, but this worked well for me to simply rock my shoulders.

I agree. Nearly the same setup and grip as standard for me, just more forward press so that the grip gently contacts the lead forearm. Didn't seem uncomfortable or awkward to me even from the beginning. I have gone back and forth between armlock and conventional but I seem to putt more consistently well with armlock.

I don't change much with my armlock... I just let the shaft ride up my left arm, which produces a forward press. Everything else is the same as my traditional putting stance, so didnt take long.

I do find some change lots of things, but this worked well for me to simply rock my shoulders.

I agree. Nearly the same setup and grip as standard for me, just more forward press so that the grip gently contacts the lead forearm. Didn't seem uncomfortable or awkward to me even from the beginning. I have gone back and forth between armlock and conventional but I seem to putt more consistently well with armlock.

I have been using arm lock putter for about 18 months now. It took me about a month to get reasonably comfortable with the method.

Went to that method due to a prolonged dose of the yips (only on very long & very short putts). Went from being a very consistent 6-7 marker(30 putts a round) to a 14 marker (40+ putts per round) so I needed to do something. Tried all manner of standard putters Scottys, Odysseys, Bettinardis, Taylormades etc, toe hang, face balanced, counterbalanced, etc, etc, etc. Ended up with about 30 putters in the collection -desperate times!

Then I bought a Odyssey 1 Wide armlock and using the Kuchar method I found an immediate improvement. Short putts became almost automatic and stopped yipping the long ones although distance control was a bit of a issue still. The only things I did not like was 1) having to play the ball back in my stance after many years of addressing the ball forward in my stance (opposite my left instep as a right hander does) and 2) not gripping left hand low

So with my huge collection of putters to work with I set about trying different set ups. Bought a couple of Armlock Golf Putter Grips (the smaller no.2 model) and after deciding that the most appropriate putters for the armlock method would be face balanced or slight toe hang models I selected a 38'' Taylormade Daddy Long Legs and a 35" Taylormade Spider Si 32 (the slant neck one) for conversion to armlock. Extended the shafts to 40" ( I am 5'9" tall and the end of the grip extends to a point just below the inner elbow joint when gripped in a left hand low set up), added the Armlock Grips and got to work on the practice putting green.

It was immediately obvious that by using a left hand low grip and playing the ball forward that the conventional loft of the converted putters was OK and that the extra loft required by the Kuchar armlock grip/method was not required. Don't know if it was due to the Taylormade PureRoll insert but the ball simply rolled end over end without any bouncing/lifting/skidding. The improvement in my putting was unbelievable - making them from everywhere and if not in then burning the hole, no distance control problems and anything inside 4' is almost automatic. Now back on a 8/9 handicap and improving and averaging 29 putts per round. I still manage at least one 3 putt every second round though.

I still have to concentrate on 3 things with the armlock method though. They are:

1) When taking my left hand grip I place the left thumb on top of the grip in precisely the same spot every time (I have a reminder spot on the grip) and rest the grip along the inside of my left arm in the same position every time. This ensures that the putter is in a unquestionable legal position and promotes consistency. I still get the odd "is that grip legal comment" from my fellow competitors. I often get take this grip and get it set while waiting my turn to putt.

2) Ensure the stroke is made by rocking the shoulders to move the arms. The hands are static. Using deliberate arm and hand motion is counter productive to the armlock method.

3) During the whole stroke the putter grip must stay resting along the inside left arm. When it breaks away it is an indication that the hands/wrist have become overactive.

After 2 years (100 rounds of golf) I would not say that taking the armlock grip/stroke is yet 100% automatic but it is becoming so for me. Another year?

By the way I ended up adopting the converted slight toe hang Spider Si 32 slant as my gamer. It hasn't been out of my bag for 18 months now and thats a record for me. Got rid of all my conventional putters. I won't be going back to the dark side.

In short I don't know why more struggling putters don't try the armlock left hand low method. It is a game changer!

I am looking to try it but it feels so uncomfortable. How long did it take for you to get comfortable with it?

Being a putter ho, would pick up a bettinardi or other arm lock putters when I went into club shops and take a few putts with it. Never really felt comfortable, but always thought that Kuchar was on to something. Then, one day I picked up an Odyssey 1W (not the first time I had picked up that particular model) and it fell into place - felt good, made a dozen consecutive putts, and then put the putter back on the rack. Tried a few again as the opportunities presented themselves, and again, they did not feel quite right, even the one that had rung the bell.

Finally pulled the trigger on a 1W and practiced with it at home for months. Sometimes it felt good and sometime it didn't. Took it out on the course with mixed results. All this time have experimented with ball position, but kept everything else the same as it had been with a standard putter.

Last night, I started experimenting with a modified pencil grip on the 1W and it felt really comfortable. Took it out on the course today, and while I can't say I dropped putts from everywhere, it felt good and the ball started where I thought I was aiming it. Finally feel that I might have found the way that works for me. Now I'm going to have to learn to read greens better.

So, to answer your original question, I have been trying it off and on for almost 3 years with mixed results. The concept makes sense, so have kept trying to figure it out, mostly on the putting mat at home but also on the course. I am hopeful that I might have found the way that works for me (gave up on left hand low 25 years ago when I pulled 1/3 of the putts without warning or success. Liked the belly putter, hated the broomstick, but the arm lock method makes sense. I remember watching a Golf Central a year and a half or so ago when they were talking about Kuchar's method and Davod Duval remarked "have you ever tried Kuchar's style? It's hard". He is right, but when you get comfortable, I think it is the best way to be consistent because it takes the variances of hand jerkiness, wrist breakdown and floppy arms out of the equation and comes down to staying quiet over the ball and rocking your shoulders. Stay with it, experiment and you will find a way that is comfortable and will make you a more consistent putter. Good luck.

How to play golf.
Hit the ball.
Find the ball
Repeat until the ball is in the hole.
Have fun.
...Chuck Hogan

For me it was pretty natural. However, the key is getting the correct length, lie angle, and loft for YOUR posture. I have 4 arm lock putters, they are all great. Once you have it down, it is 100% more consistent than conventional putting. Ask my golfing buddies....they hate it because I drain more putts than they think I should...

I used an arm lock putter for 2 years, and it really helped my drop my number of puts per round. It was a little uncomfortable, but I looked at this as a positive. I felt that the uncomfortable feeling contributed to less unnecessary movement during putting. The regular putting grip/stance feels comfortable, but has a lot of variables that can cause you to miss a put.

I played around with one for a while, and I feel like it’s a great way to putt. You NEED a proper fit, though. I’m 6’2” with normal length arms, and I needed a 44 1/4” putter. Lots of people just grab putters off the rack and then abandon it quickly.

I found a Bettinardi in a clearance rack, not many left hand models around . Anyway took to it right away. I have always liked the idea of a forward press but never found a putter with enough loft . My miss is a pull so I try to putt with a slightly open face . As a result I am a very inconsistent putter.

I find the arm lock really takes the hands and wrists out my stroke , more of a shoulder rock and now I have a straight back straight though stroke. I was holing everything , I thought wow this putter should have been banned as well. Put it down and went back to normal putters blades , mallets ,tow up , face balance , toe hang, with my usual results. So back the the Arm lock and started holing everything again . Bought it so we shall see what it like on the course this spring but the stroke feels just solid.

Big thing for me, and I'm trying it bryson style really upright pendulum motion is to get the right length. He uses a 43" putter and he's 6'1" and im 5'11" and obviously there's other considerations but I could not get it to work for me at all and I realized it was just simply too long with my long arms and shorter stature. To be legal it needs to not extend past your elbow and I found the right length for me is 39" and if it gets any longer it just didn't work at all. The only thing I need to figure out now is that I've got the heel off the ground and need a 72-73 degree lie angle. The stability has been really good it becomes SO simple to just lock it in and rock the shoulders. Big thing to experiment with now is headweight I've got a kuchar model 1 at 400 grams which seems awfully heavy and I want to try more like bryson at around 360 grams.

I started off last year with the Accu Bio putter which is an arm lock style putter with a funky head. I ended up liking the style of putting a lot as I had very good results, but I wanted a more traditional style looking putter. In the fall of last year, I built a 43" arm lock putter out of old Ping 2i putter. I had GG adjust the lie to 76 deg and the loft to 7 degrees and put on a 17" super stroke grip on it and I was off and running. I only got in about 5 rounds with thus far due to the winter, but I love it. I am not a fan of the face of the putter but I have been able to put a very consistent roll on the ball.

I like the style so much that I am building an Evnroll arm lock putter right now. I am having a fiberglass shaft put in it and then plan on sending it back to Evnroll to have the head adjusted to their maximum specs. Their maximum will be one degree less on loft and lie than my current set up, but it should be close for a good starting point. It is the 375g anser style head, will be interested to see if it is too heavy or not.